By: Melissa Zhao

Canadian sensation Summer Mcintosh stirred excitement in the crowd of eager, action hungry 2024 Paris Olympic watchers and made history in the world of swimming when she won the gold medal for the 400-meter Individual Medley and the silver medal for the 400 meter freestyle. All of which she won at only 17 years old.

When she was just 14 years old, Summer Mcintosh made the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and narrowly missed earning medals. Now, just shy of 18 years, Summer Mcintosh has become one of Canada’s most successful swimmers. She will continue to race and earn her well-deserved Olympic medals in her events.

In the 400 Individual Medley, Summer Mcintosh stormed forward to win the race with a shocking 4:27.71, just off of her 400 I.M. world record, 4:24.38. She beat both U.S. swimmer Katie Grimes, and her teammate U.S. Emma Weyant, with her unbelievably fast swim. Her Olympic swim became the 2nd fastest time in the women’s 400 I.M. in 2023-2024.

Grimes, at a time of 4:33.40, and Weyant, with a 4:34.93 time, snatched silver and bronze for the U.S, but were both several body lengths behind Summer Mcintosh. Many other swimmers were only a couple milliseconds apart, clearly showing how unusual the 1st and 2nd places being 6 seconds apart is.

Summer Mcintosh has already claimed two Olympic medals in her swimming career, one silver and one gold, and she likely still has two to win. Her two wins are remarkable, made just more special by the fact that she is just 17 years old. She still has the 200 butterfly where she will compete with American swimmer Regan Smith for another title for Canada. After one of her races, as she discussed her swim with reporters, she said, “Going into this meet I didn’t really have specific expectations on times. I’m always just trying to polish up details and dives and things like that and trying to figure out how I want to swim and execute each race.”

Summer Mcintosh has proven that age is just a number, and she continues to shock spectators as she claims victory after victory for Canada.

Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5665678/2024/07/29/summer-mcintosh-olympic-swimming-canada-gold-medal/?source=nyt_sports